NYC Bar Association releases assessment of Chief Judge nominees

Evan Davis and Jonathan Lippman are the two top-rated jurists on the Commission for Judicial Nomination’s controversial list of seven names to replace Chief Judge Judith Kaye. Albany attorney George Carpinello? Ehh, not so much. The list:

The Association’s Executive Committee extensively reviewed the background and qualifications of the candidates. Representatives of the Association’s Executive, Judiciary and State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction Committees interviewed each candidate and for all candidates, reviewed their writings, investigated their background, and interviewed judges and lawyers familiar with the candidates. The full Executive Committee then considered whether to rate each candidate “well qualified” or “not well qualified” or “exceptionally well qualified” for the position of Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals after considering the candidate’s intellectual ability, knowledge of the law, integrity, impartiality, judicial demeanor and temperament. In addition, in evaluating a candidate for Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, the Executive Committee considers that the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals is also Chief Judge of the State of New York, and the oversight and administrative powers and responsibilities that accompany this position.